Windows 10 VHD Native Boot

Question

Is it possible to native boot a vhd created from an image of an existing and working Windows 10 (April Update) installation (native PC, not VM, and no Sysprep), using UEFI or BIOS interchangeably on the same machine the installation was first setup (Since it's the same device, I was hoping Sysprep wouldn't be required)? I'm testing with a 64-bit OS, and a fixed size VHD (and optionally differencing VHD). I'm interested in details for both Pro and Enterprise.

When I try to boot, Windows loads partway, through two loading indication screens up to a blank (black) screen, with a mouse pointer continuously switching between normal and busy pointers, and keeps reading the disk.

I have placed the boot files on a UFD, but the VHD is on a Hard Disk (not SSD) with plenty of space for expansion.

Is it an issue if a page file can't be created on the parent HDD volume?

I also tried to boot a differencing VHD, but through UEFI, only the entry for the parent VHD is shown, even though I know for a fact that the entry for the differencing disk also exists in the efi BCD, and when I try to add the differencing entry to non UEFI BCD, I get errors (IIRC there is an invalid object in the boot configuration data store), with error codes such as 0xc00000bb when using the boot files from 1803 ADK, and 0xc3a000b when using those from the ADK for Windows 8.1 Update...

The VHDs were created using diskpart. I'm primarily interested in VHD, not VHDX, though any relevant info on the latter is also welcome.

I HAVE in the past managed to native boot from VHDs on the same system, including differencing disks, but with a parent VHD I had obtained from the Microsoft website (Windows 10 Development Environment VHD, but I don't have that anymore to test, and I'm not sure if it was x86 or x64).

Correction:

I believe one of the error codes is 0xc03a000b, NOT 0xc3a000b. I mistyped.

Also, I have tried creating the boot files with bcdboot with /f ALL and also creating the BCDs manually with bcdedit...

Answer 1

Hi Thejaka,

We appreciate your post here in the Community forums. However, your concern regarding the VHD native boot will be best handled by our IT Pro Audience in the TechNet forums . You may post your query under the Windows 10 IT Pro > Windows 10 Installation, Setup & Deployment section.

Note: You may also check this thread from time to time as we have other community members here who may also have an insight to your query.

Let us know should you have any other concerns.